Review by Steve Bennett

It means there’s not a whole heap of joy in his set, which is instead a relentless parade of sneering negativity. With hangdog scowl permanently etched on his face, he’ll complain about the parlous state of the world to anyone who will listen.

He’s not one of those loveable grumps, either, but a bitter one – and it’s that misanthropy that drives his sardonic comedy. Everyone and everything is fair game, even if it leads some of his material uncomfortably close to racism, such as gags about Muslim women being so ugly they need to be covered head-to-toe, or mocking the Japanese and Chinese for their silly accents. It’s not hard to imagine some of this material coming from Davidson’s mouth.

This is only a small part of his routine, however, and if there’s one thing you can say about Meo, it’s that he’s a prolific, efficient gag writer. Unlike many other established comics of his standing, there are always a few new gags in his punchline-packed set.

To keep industrious, he keeps on top of the headlines, if not the fine detail of the news, for inspiration. But because he’s drawing from the same well as countless other topical comedians, his subject matter and his attitude can have an air of familiarity. However, almost 20 years on the circuit have certainly made him good at what he does, which is pushing out the gags with unflagging regularity.

It makes for a rock-solid performance from this Volvo of comedy – mass-producing dependable, perfectly engineered gags, even if they are a little unexciting.

Review date: 3 May 2007
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett